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Ski - Jon Olsson (Are, Sweden)
It would be safe to say that Jon Olsson was arguably the hottest freestyle skier at Winter X last year. He walked away with more hardware than any other park skier. A gold in SuperPipe and a bronze in Slopestyle set the stage for the rest of his season. A week later at the U.S. Open in Vail, Colo., he bagged another two medals. He went on to win the Red Bull Huckfest at Snowbird, Utah and the Red Bull Big Air in Are, Sweden at his home mountain. By the end of the season, Freeskier Magazine proclaimed 2002 the "Year of Jon Olsson." Not a bad honor for a 20-year-old.

Jon in mid-rodeo at the Mammoth pipe.

When Jon's skiing career began, it never looked as if he would be competing in any X Games. He grew up ski racing in Are, Sweden, and was a member of the Swedish National team. Eventually Jon's desire to freeski conflicted with a regimented race schedule and he left the Swedish team after two years. That said however, Jon plans to enter another FIS giant slalom race during the 2002-2003 season.

After watching J.F. Cusson win the 1999 Winter X Games, Jon constructed his own twin tipped skis and started competing in Big Air competitions. He won the first local contest he entered. Most of those in the industry know that this was not a case of beginner's luck.

Jon has always been known as one of the most regimented skiers in the industry. If his 2002 season is any indication, Jon's hard work certainly seems to be paying off.

Now that Jon has established himself as one of the sport's elite, all eyes will be upon him at Winter X. He will be competing in both the Slopestyle and SuperPipe, and is definitely a podium favorite in both contests.